Assembly Member Jasmeet Bains Champions Bill to Combat Transnational Repression in California

May 27 :
When her bill to combat transnational repression (AB 3027) was up for vote on May 23, Dr. Jasmeet Bains—the first Sikh American to be elected to a state office in California—spoke about it. After being proposed by Bains in February, the bill was approved unanimously and with bipartisan support in April by the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

Referring to an article titled "An assassination plot on American soil reveals a darker side of Modi's India," Bains pushed to adopt the law on May 23. According to anonymous sources cited in the report, an officer from the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was involved in an alleged plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an Indian national labelled as a terrorist, in the United States in 2023. A Sikh activist named Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in Canada in 2023, coinciding with the foiled assassination in the US, according to the story.

Transnational repression is one of the biggest new dangers to American democracy and freedom, and AB 3027 aims to combat it. In a social media post by the Sikh Coalition, Bains stated that a few weeks ago, it was reported on the front page of The Washington Post that the Indian government had attempted and paid to assassinate US individuals right here on US territory.

So, I'm curious, why?" For whatever reason, I can't find this in the FBI or Homeland Security report; instead, it appears in The Washington Post. India and other foreign countries that violate our national sovereignty should be held accountable and condemned, she stressed, regardless of whether they are US allies or not.

A diplomatic crisis erupted between India and Canada following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's explicit linking of the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar to Indian intelligence.

In a ferocious response, India called the accusations "absurd" and momentarily limited Canadian visas and compelled Ottawa to remove ambassadors.

As California takes a historic first step towards recognising the dangers of global repression, Bains' bill is a major landmark. In order to better protect communities from transnational repression, the measure defines the term, requires local law enforcement to develop training programmes to recognise and combat it, and reaffirms California's dedication to this cause.